Historical trends in counsellor education dissertations

There exists a dearth of literature on the content, research method and research design trends of dissertations in education. Within one large subfield of education (i.e. counsellor education), an online and full-text archive of dissertations has become available. This archive contains over 200 dissertations produced in Oregon State University’s Counselling Academic Unit from 1947 to 2014. Research questions concerning decadal differences in content, research method and research design were examined empirically. No decadal differences were discovered in the three aforementioned areas. Reasons for these findings were discussed.     

Parent–child relationships and offspring’s positive mental wellbeing from adolescence to early older age

We examined parent-child relationship quality and positive mental well-being using Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development data. Well-being was measured at ages 13–15 (teacher-rated happiness), 36 (life satisfaction), 43 (satisfaction with home and family life) and 60–64 years (Diener Satisfaction With Life scale and Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being scale). The Parental Bonding Instrument captured perceived care and control from the father and mother to age 16, recalled by study members at age 43. Greater well-being was seen for offspring with higher combined parental care and lower combined parental psychological control (p < 0.05 at all ages). Controlling for maternal care and paternal and maternal behavioural and psychological control, childhood social class, parental separation, mother’s neuroticism and study member’s personality, higher well-being was consistently related to paternal care. This suggests that both mother–child and father–child relationships may have short and long-term consequences for positive mental well-being.     

Marital Status and Adjustment 1 Year Post-Spinal-Cord-Injury

The current study employed a case-control design to examine the impact of marital status on adjustment among individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) 1 year post-injury. Two groups of 53 individuals (i.e., single versus married individuals) were matched case-for-case on age (i.e., within 10 years), education, gender, race, and lesion level. Although not specifically matched, etiology of SCI, and number of rehospitalizations and days rehospitalized during the past year were not significantly different between groups. Outcome measures included the Satisfaction With Life Scale, the Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique (CHART), and the SF-12. Results indicated that overall self-reported QOL was significantly lower among single individuals as compared to their matched married counterparts. Similarly, self-reported handicap was significantly higher among single individuals, particularly in the areas of social integration and economic self-sufficiency. In contrast, overall physical and mental health were not different across groups.     

The Driving Anger Expression Inventory: A Validity Study with Community College Student Drivers

This study explored the relationship of driving anger expression to driving anger, trait anger, general anger expression, and aggressive and risky behavior while driving. Verbal, physical, and vehicular forms of expressing anger while driving correlated positively with each other, driving and trait anger, anger-in, and anger-out and negatively with adaptive/constructive driving anger expression and general anger-control. Adaptive/constructive expression formed small negative correlations with these measures, except for a positive correlation with anger-control. Regression models controlling for demographic variables and driving anger, trait anger, or general anger expression demonstrated forms of driving anger expression added variance to predicting aggressive and risky behavior. Forms of driving anger expression partially mediated the effects for driving anger, trait anger, and general anger expression on aggressive and risky behavior. No moderation effects were found for age, gender, or miles driven. Findings provided evidence for convergent and incremental validity for the Driving Anger Expression Inventory.     

Perseveration of the partial reinforcement effect in extinction with rats over two phases of extinction and two stages of continuous reinforcement

One group of 10 male albino rats was given partial reinforcement while the other 10 rats received continuous reinforcement in a straight alley. Subjects then experienced five consecutive stages of Extinction 1, Continuous Reinforcement 1, Extinction 2, Continuous Reinforcement 2, and finally, Extinction 3. Analysis showed the partial reinforcement effect in extinction was sustained over two stages of extinction and two stages of continuous reinforcement, since subjects receiving partial reinforcement ran faster than rats given continuous reinforcement throughout all three of the extinction periods. The results seem to support those of Amsel's (1967) and Cabpaldi's (1967) theoretical formulations of the partial reinforcement effect in extinction.     

Children's self-reported coping strategies: the role of defensiveness and repressive adaptation

This study examined differences in self-reported coping strategies across children classified according to Weinberger et al.'s (1979) adaptive style paradigm. Consistent with the larger literature, it was hypothesized that repressors (i.e. characterized by high self-reported defensiveness and low self-reported distress) would endorse fewer behaviorally and cognitively avoidant coping strategies than other adaptive style groups. Participants included 134 children, ranging in age from 10 to 13 (M=11.26, sd=.59), who completed measures of defensiveness, trait anxiety, and coping. Consistent with the hypotheses, results indicated significantly lower endorsement of avoidant coping strategies, and significantly higher endorsement of approach-oriented strategies among repressors, but no significant differences across adaptive style groups for other forms of coping. Results indicate that, consistent with other indicators of psychological functioning, the measurement of coping strategies is subject to the effects of socially desirable responding. Further, results provide evidence that measures of coping may be contaminated by items reflecting adjustment problems.     

Activity in the human amygdala corresponds to early, rather than late period autonomic responses to a signal for shock

Laboratory animal and human subject studies report that the amygdala is a critical brain structure that supports the acquisition and expression of conditional fear. Recent functional neuroimaging studies in humans have reported that activity in this region is closely related to the behavioral expression of conditional skin conductance responses (SCR). However, SCR waveforms following conditional stimulus (CS) presentation contain both early period and late period responses that may differ with respect to underlying central processes. It is not known whether amygdala activity corresponds to the expression of early conditonal responses (CRs) that occur shortly following CS onset or late CRs that closely precede UCS onset. The present study used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging and concurrent skin conductance measurements to determine whether amygdala activity is more closely related to the expression of early or late period CRs. Increased amygdala activity was detected during the formation of early, but not late period CRs. Additionally, this pattern of amygdala activity did not dissipate, but persisted into late stages of the experiment. These findings are consistent with the idea that amygdala responding is critically involved in the generation of CRs formed shortly following CS onset.